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RESOURCES: More Than a Smidge About Midges

Chironomid midges aren't the voracious bloodsuckers that torment hikers in the Scottish Highlands. Instead, the peaceable little flies are often the ones that get bitten, providing meals for insects and fish and serving as key links in aquatic food webs. The Chironomid Home Page run by grad student Ethan Bright of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, connects to 19 midge identification catalogs and checklists, covering southern Africa to the Yukon. Chironomid remains in soil and sediments can help researchers chart climate change and shifts in human land use. The Dead Heads section offers a field guide to these preserved forms. You can also buzz through a directory of chironomid researchers, several bibliographies, or a yearly newsletter.